Metal Hearts and Titanium Nails
by sodashopgirl
Summary: This story is about The Outsiders, the book that I fell in love with. This is my first time showing people my writing. It's still a work in progress, but there is romance and some violence so be careful. I hope you guys like it. (:
1. Chapter 1

_Don't look back. He doesn't care. Just keep running. He won't find you. _Behind me, the man I call my father, is chasing me with a beer in one hand and a knife in the other. He smelled strongly of alcohol. The fumes were so immense I seemed to choke on them.

Tears streamed down my face streaking my rosy cheeks. I continued to run trying to leave my past life behind hoping my father would eventually give up. He never did. He kept running after me.

My clumsiness soon kicked in. I tripped over a crack in the sidewalk. I quickly got up, but my father was quicker. He pinned me down to the hard ground pounding my head on the cement. Everything became blurry. Everything seemed to be spinning going by in cloud of haze. I soon felt a cool liquid that seemed to burn at the touch of it. _Beer_. The pungent liquid poured into my mouth and eyes leaving me almost completely sightless. The taste was stout. I had no choice but the swallow the amber liquid. It burned my esophagus leaving my throat with the feel of fire.

"Don't you ever run away from me like that you little shit. Understand me?" he yelled at me in a stern voice. I nodded quickly and I managed to stammer out, "y-yes." His grey eyes seemed to ignite. "You're pathetic." He snarled his nose and me and clenched his jaw. "I feel like a loser. I have to claim you as my child." His disgusted face now became a smirk. "Or maybe I don't have to." He took one final look at me. My eyes became wide. I looked into his eyes to see if he would give me any mercy. A few seconds later, he took the knife and pierced my left thigh. A scream escaped my mouth. It felt as if I was set on fire. Not an inch of the blade could be seen. My father took off running leaving me alone to die on the cold hard ground. No one could save me now. Crimson poured out of me like a rapid river. I felt the warm blood pour out of my thigh. I couldn't move. It felt as if my energy was just drained out of me. No one was coming for me. There was no way I was going to get help. I closed my eyes the last thing I remember seeing was the night sky full of stars. Then, everything was pitch black. I knew I was going to die. _Just let go..._


	2. Chapter 2

My eyes flashed open. All I could see was white. My eyes slowly started making out the colors. My ears slowly started identifying the sounds around me. I was laying down in what felt like a hospital bed. I got my sight back. I slowly turned my head only to see the gang to the left of me.

"Rise and shine sleepy head," Two-Bit said making his cheesy grin. My head instantly flooded with questions.

""How did I get here?" I asked as possibilities raced through my mind.

"We were headed back home from Dairy Queen and we heard a scream that sounded like yours. Turns out it was. Superman over here carried you to the hospital," Dally explained pointing to Darry.

"Yeah, we brought you here and the doctor said you slipped into a coma. Said you had little chance of survival. But look," he said smiling. "You made it." I smiled and held my arms out for a hug. They all accepted it. Tears of joy came to my eyes as I thought about how lucky I am to be here with them.

"Aww. Look at that. She's tearing up," Sodapop said playfully. I giggled and wiped the tears away.

I calmed down and the tears were no longer there. I looked around the hospital room. There was an IV in my pale arms. My left thigh was stitched and wrapped in multiple bandages. I saw a bottles of eyes drops on the bedside table next to me. Beer does that much to your eye?

"How long was I in a coma?" I asked.

About a day," replied Darry. "The doctor said we should try gettin' you out of bed. Wanna try to walk? I'll help you." I was froze with fear. What if I have trouble? What if I fall?

"Uh sure," I replied. The words came out uneasy.

"Ha! Look at this! She's chicken!" Steve said laughing at his "smart" remark as Darry elbowed him in the stomach.

"Shut up!" I said quickly in defense.

I sat up and Darry supported me as I hobbled to my feet. A sharp pain shot through my left leg. I gritted my teeth together as my leg supported my weight again. I leaned on Darry more.

"It's alright. I got you," he said giving me a reassuring smile. I managed to make a half smile back. I hopped on my foot trying to make my way across the room. Just as soon as I got the hang of it, I landed on my heel and slipped. I closed my eyes hoping I wouldn't see anymore crimson liquid. My breath seemed to be sucked out of my lungs. I couldn't breathe. I was already in bad enough condition, I couldn't let it get worse. I anticipated the pain of my body crashing into the cold, hard floor.

A moment before I hit the floor, I felt hands slide under my shoulders. I opened my eyes. I went from not breathing at all, to breathing as if a 200-pound weight was just lifted off my chest. Darry was standing beside me.

"Lexi," he began, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to..."

"It's, it's fine," I said panting.

"I looked behind me to see who caught me. To my surprise, it wasn't who I thought it was. It wasn't Steve, Two-Bit, Dally, or Soda. It was both Ponyboy and Johnny. Pony was to my left and Johnny to my right.

"Lexi?" Johnny began. I looked into his eyes. They were worried. The puppy dog look in his eyes was intensified. Johnny was frozen. He tried to finish his sentence, but all that came out were soft stutters.

"Are you okay?" Pony said finishing his thought.

"Yeah... I'm fine. A little startled... but fine," I replied breathlessly.

They both pushed me back up and sat me on the bed.

"Thanks."

"No problem," Pony replied.

I looked at Johnny. He was still shocked at the event that just happened. I looked into his glistening brown eyes. The same brown eyes I fell in love with two years ago.

It was the summer of 1963. The sky was full of shimmering stars with a brilliant plum purple in the back ground. The whole gang was walking back from the movies. We watched the movie "Hud" that had John Newman staring in it; Pony's choice. We were walking back towards the Curtis house. I was looking up at the sky. Johnny slowly crept beside me giving me a small but sweet smile. I smiled back giving a smile just a tad bigger than his. We passed by the lot. Johnny was going to sleep there that night. As he walked to the vacant lot, I watched his flawless silhouette fade into the mesmerizing summer night sky. I soon realized I saw smiling without intention. I couldn't stop thinking about him. Her never left my thoughts.


End file.
